5th on the 4th

What reminded me of PleasantVille jacked up on American spirit with red, white and blue beads, hair bows, balloons and every outfit possible resembling a flag, was exactly what lined the streets of my latest race towards 50 by 50. 

While in Pittsburgh, PA for the tenth reunion show of Realtime winning the gold (Tim's quartet he used to sing with), I managed to locate a nearby race to participate in on the Fourth of July. I'm not kidding you when I say it was like PleasantVille.
This small-town of Brentwood had little old ladies fashioning the brightest red lip smackers you could possibly find as they handed out race packets and assisted the race organizers. There were kids dolled up to the nines in matching sibling outfits, face paintings and proudly waved flags as they sat along the parade route which happened to be the race course too. Out and back, there were neighbors lining the streets with lawn chairs and disposable cups filled with water as the runners ran by. Old fashion planes flew overhead with smoke trails behind them not far off from the ground. 

The gun went off and I started off running dodging many of those in front of me. For a small town race, the 2200 registered runners brought in many quick feet in an extremely well-organized event. Running up and down the rolling hills on the main street, I managed to complete the race 13th in my age division with a time of 26:13. Not my best, but I was happy with it as I'm not sure I could have gone much quicker dancing around the other runners and my lungs figuring out how to deal with the humidity. 

Once I was done, the event team met me with still warm bagels, bananas, popsicles, oranges, Gatorade, beer of my choice (if only I liked that stuff!) and music to keep the party going. After waiting for almost 45 minutes for a taxi, I got bold and asked a gal if she was driving anywhere near the downtown area. Exactly where I needed to be. 

Thank you so much Sarah for the ride back to the hotel! Turns out she's been on a five year quest to completing a full marathon in every state with 23 already crossed off her list. One of which just happened to be Bellingham. Go figure! In the ten minute drive back, We managed to talk family, faith, adoption, marriage and our similar interest of running. Next time you happen to be in the Pittsburgh area and need to go for a run, just look up the Steel City Road Runners Club who also provided pacers for the race!

Five down...a few more to go!

{ Thanks to this lady for holding my race packet. }